Games Completed 2022

[Tolkientaters]

Just finished Fire Emblem Three Houses on the Black Eagle route, had a great time. I played the DLC first which made the campaign seem like a cakewalk in comparison. That being said I loved the story and characters, the story felt more impactful than I expected. Probably gonna replay the Golden Deer at some point.

[Alex79]

JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
JAN - Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox)
JAN - Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (Switch)
JAN - Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (Xbox)
JAN - Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox)
JAN - Halo Infinite (Xbox)
JAN - Hitman (Xbox)
FEB - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)
FEB - Max Payne 2 (Xbox)
FEB - The Walking Dead: 400 Days (Xbox)
FEB - Hyper Sentinel (Switch)
FEB - It Takes Two (Xbox)
FEB - Overboard! (Android)
APR - Hollow Knight (Switch)
APR - Sagebrush (Switch)
APR - Saints Row IV (Switch)
APR - Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis on Switch)
APR - Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox)
APR - WarioWare: Get It Together! (Switch)
MAY - Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Arcade on Xbox)
MAY - Super Mario 3D World (Switch)
MAY - You Must Build A Boat (Android)
MAY - Untitled Goose Game (Switch)
JUN - The Secret Of Monkey Island (PC-CD on Android)
JUN - Street Fighter (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting (Switch)
JUN - Super Street Fighter II (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Switch)
JUN - Disco Elysium (Switch)
JUL - Portal (Switch)
JUL - Poinpy (Android)
JUL - Dishonored: Definitive Edition (Xbox)
JUL - Portal: Still Alive (Switch)
AUG - X-Com 2 (Switch)
SEP - Monkey Island 2: Le Chuck's Revenge (PC on Android)

SEP - Grid Legends: Story Mode (Xbox)

Enjoyed this. Nice halfway point between arcade and sim handling, nice mixture of vehicles in the story mode and some good performances even if the story was a little by the numbers. My only gripe really is that it's too easy. Even on hard I found I was winning races by 5+ seconds, with the only exception being the Dubai Eliminator a couple of races from the end which bizarrely took me about a dozen tries to win. But otherwise, great fun all the way through. I was going to stick with it and go through the career mode too, but aside from the fact there's too much else to play I really didn't like the way it seemed to be trying to create an online session for every race. No interest in that, just want an offline career mode - if I want to play online I'll play online.

[Angry_Kurt]

JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
JAN - Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox)
JAN - Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (Switch)
JAN - Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (Xbox)
JAN - Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox)
JAN - Halo Infinite (Xbox)
JAN - Hitman (Xbox)
FEB - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)
FEB - Max Payne 2 (Xbox)
FEB - The Walking Dead: 400 Days (Xbox)
FEB - Hyper Sentinel (Switch)
FEB - It Takes Two (Xbox)
FEB - Overboard! (Android)
APR - Hollow Knight (Switch)
APR - Sagebrush (Switch)
APR - Saints Row IV (Switch)
APR - Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis on Switch)
APR - Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox)
APR - WarioWare: Get It Together! (Switch)
MAY - Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Arcade on Xbox)
MAY - Super Mario 3D World (Switch)
MAY - You Must Build A Boat (Android)
MAY - Untitled Goose Game (Switch)
JUN - The Secret Of Monkey Island (PC-CD on Android)
JUN - Street Fighter (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting (Switch)
JUN - Super Street Fighter II (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Switch)
JUN - Disco Elysium (Switch)
JUL - Portal (Switch)
JUL - Poinpy (Android)
JUL - Dishonored: Definitive Edition (Xbox)
JUL - Portal: Still Alive (Switch)
AUG - X-Com 2 (Switch)
SEP - Monkey Island 2: Le Chuck's Revenge (PC on Android)

SEP - Grid Legends: Story Mode (Xbox)

Enjoyed this. Nice halfway point between arcade and sim handling, nice mixture of vehicles in the story mode and some good performances even if the story was a little by the numbers. My only gripe really is that it's too easy. Even on hard I found I was winning races by 5+ seconds, with the only exception being the Dubai Eliminator a couple of races from the end which bizarrely took me about a dozen tries to win. But otherwise, great fun all the way through. I was going to stick with it and go through the career mode too, but aside from the fact there's too much else to play I really didn't like the way it seemed to be trying to create an online session for every race. No interest in that, just want an offline career mode - if I want to play online I'll play online.

Glad you enjoyed it. Regarding the career mode though, I initially thought the same but you can do the career offline. I couldn’t figure out how you distinguish between an offline and online event.

[Alex79]

JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
JAN - Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox)
JAN - Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (Switch)
JAN - Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (Xbox)
JAN - Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox)
JAN - Halo Infinite (Xbox)
JAN - Hitman (Xbox)
FEB - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)
FEB - Max Payne 2 (Xbox)
FEB - The Walking Dead: 400 Days (Xbox)
FEB - Hyper Sentinel (Switch)
FEB - It Takes Two (Xbox)
FEB - Overboard! (Android)
APR - Hollow Knight (Switch)
APR - Sagebrush (Switch)
APR - Saints Row IV (Switch)
APR - Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis on Switch)
APR - Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox)
APR - WarioWare: Get It Together! (Switch)
MAY - Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Arcade on Xbox)
MAY - Super Mario 3D World (Switch)
MAY - You Must Build A Boat (Android)
MAY - Untitled Goose Game (Switch)
JUN - The Secret Of Monkey Island (PC-CD on Android)
JUN - Street Fighter (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting (Switch)
JUN - Super Street Fighter II (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Switch)
JUN - Disco Elysium (Switch)
JUL - Portal (Switch)
JUL - Poinpy (Android)
JUL - Dishonored: Definitive Edition (Xbox)
JUL - Portal: Still Alive (Switch)
AUG - X-Com 2 (Switch)
SEP - Monkey Island 2: Le Chuck's Revenge (PC on Android)
SEP - Grid Legends: Story Mode (Xbox)

SEP - Batman: Arkham Knight (Xbox)

I'm not really sure what prompted me to have another playthrough of this recently, but for whatever reason I found myself heading back to Gotham for the final game in the Arkham QUADrilogy. I went in fully intending to find all the riddler trophies, which is the only thing I never finished the first time I played it back on PS4, but as is often the case, by the time I reached the end of the main game I'd just about had my fill and was ready to finish. I did most the side stories, leaving a few of the less interesting ones half finished. The game still really does look amazing. I'm not sure whether on Series S there has been an FPS boost but the game seemed to run smoother than ever. The combat is still the highlight here, and I maintain that the Batmobile is actually pretty fun to drive around in, and I like the missions where you basically turn in to a tank. The only thing that I felt probably needed reassessing was the story. It really isn't particularly interesting once you know who the Arkham Knight is, although I admit it was a big surprise for me back in the day. The rogues gallery is varied and there are some fun side missions with them all. I'd always considered this my second favourite Arkham game after Origins, but on replaying I'm not so sure, I think City might have it beat just on the story and the side missions, but this was fun to go back to.

[DeadpoolNegative]

Firewatch (XBox One, 4/26)- Thanks, XBox GamePass! An entertaining, if a tad too slight, first person narrative adventure carried by the always reliable Rich Sommer, who for once is playing a character basically sympathetic and not a secret douche. The opening mini-text adventure about the main character's wife's early onset alzheimers is one of the most depressing sequences I've ever played in a game. I found the easygoing pace quite interesting and the anticlimactic nature of the narrative didn't bother me nearly as much as I thought it would. It just feels like more could have and should have been done here. Like maybe more story, more characters in this sparely populated forest. But then again, maybe the game would have been criticized for being too long.

Life is Strange: True Colors (XBox One, 4/30)- While I wasn't a fan of the original life is Strange or The Adventures of Captain Spirit (Or pretty much any Don't Nod game I've ever played), I did enjoy Before the Storm, which was made by True Colors' developer Deck Nine. Sure, it was overly melodramatic but not half as manipulative and clunky plotted as the original games (and I actually prefer Rhianna DeVries to Ashly Burch, don't tell anyone). Okay, that DLC was terrible, I'll give you that.

True Colors, like Before the Storm, feels stronger in its world building and a sense of place than the base games. I think it's perhaps because While Haven Springs is just one random street with a bunch of shops as opposed to a series of locations, I got to know it better. And some of the people better (the subplot about the woman who runs a flower shop dealing with memory loss and her daughter's departure for college is heartbreaking). The game doesn't offer me as much freedom as I'd like to just walk around and listen to random conversations, but the fact that it did made me like it a lot more.

The main narrative is... well, there's a Dartigan video that sums up the plot holes pretty well, it's shockingly badly plotted, which characters behaving in ways that don't make any sense because the plot needs them to behave that way. At the same time, there are plenty of quite character moments that are very compelling. Alex herself, as performed by Erika Mori, is a very relatable character, and the game creates her mental illness issues with fairness. Empathy as a superpower is dicey, but at least it isn't treated as a deus ex machina (well, almost). The game's facial animations are skillfully done- I Keep coming back to the opening scene where Alex is looking right at the player, where her Doctor is off screen discussing with her the terms of her release from what looks like a group home.

That overall plot though, see if you can track this:

Spoiler: show

before the events of the game, Alex and her brother, Gabe, were abandoned by their father, when, in the throws of emotional turmoil after his wife and their mother's death from cancer, he hits a young Alex. He doesn't ask a relative for help, he doesn't call anyone, he just mutters "Someone from child protective services will come along" and then gets his jacket and leaves. While it seems he has had zero contact with them, and hasn't even been sending them money, Gabe nevertheless has been searching for his father while Alex was institutionalized. Gabe tracks his father's last whereabouts to Haven Springs, where unbeknownst to him, his father died in a mining accident and Jed, Typhon's foreman at the time, covered it up. Now, when a kid who looks like one of the guys who died in the accident shows up in town looking for him you'd think Jed would do anything to make him leave but no he gets him a job in the bar and an apartment above it. The argument can be made that he did this out of guilt, but considering the lengths he's willing to go to cover all this up, I don't buy it. Also Jed tries to get rid of Alex by shooting her in the head so she'll fall into the mineshaft and doesn't check to see if she survived that fall or not. Given Alex's past, wouldn't it made more sense to fake a suicide? Also, Typhon settles with Gabe's girlfriend Charlotte, who has no legal right to anything regarding his death, and yet doesn't try nearly as hard to settle with Alex, his only living relative? And while I love the tempting offer to either stay in Haven Springs or go off on your own with your love interest, why the hell would Alex be welcome in Haven Springs when she inadvertently destroyed the company that employs nearly the entire town?

Whew, now that that's over, and boy I need to get a life, I did overall like the game, I think some of the basic ideas and writing could be implemented better. The saddest thing of all, though, is that small places like Haven Springs just don't exist anymore in the America of 2022, and haven't for a very, very long time.

--Dan

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Terminator Resistance(platinum) - PS5.
(Jan) Call of Duty: Cold War - Series X.
(Jan) Dishonored 2 - PS5.
(Jan) Aliens: Fireteam Elite - Series X.
(May) State of Decay 2 - Series X.
(June) Chorus - Series X.
(June) Shadow Warrior 3 - PS5.
(June) TMNT: Shredders Revenge - Series X.
(July) TMCC: Halo Reach - Series X.
(July) The Dark Pictures: Little Hope - PS5.
(July) Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - Series X.
(July) Far Cry 6 - Series X.
(July) Road 96 - Series X.
(July) Trek to Yomi - Series X.
(July) Stray - PS5.
(July) Toy Soldiers: Cold War - Xbox 360.
(Aug) Avicii Invector - PS5.
(Sept) GRID Legends - Series X.
(Sept) Crossfire X - Series X.

[seansthomas]

23rd Jan - God of War (PS4)
10th Feb - Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox Series S)
11th Feb - Starfox 64 (Nintendo Switch)
14th Feb - Sunset Overdrive (Xbox Series S)
16th Feb - Superliminal (Xbox Series S)
12th Jun - Elden Ring (Xbox Series S)
23rd June - TMNT: Shredder's Revenge (Xbox Series S)
11th July - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox Series S)
9th Sept - Hitman 3 + DLC (Xbox Series S)

21st Sept - Immortality (Xbox Series S)

Interesting experience. A 'game'? Nope ... A puzzle that felt satisfying, like Her Story? Not really... More a story you have to piece together by luck and curiosity...

I'm blown away by the production values. The attention to detail. Some of the ideas... It's highly ambitious.

Did I enjoy it? I'm not sure... It creeped me out at times and I loved some of the music in it. But it felt like the mechanics were diminishing returns as the game went on.

It didn't have a 'eureka!' moment like Her Story. I found 120 of the clips but am struggling to locate any new ones now and I'm also lacking the drive to want to.

I googled an explanation of the story to check I'd got it all, and I pretty much had.

So yeah. Weird one. I'm kinda more with TCGS podcast team on it than the EDGE 10/10 review, but I'm glad I played it and that something like this can get made.

[MattL]

Jan 2: Days Gone, PS5
Feb 27: Demon's Souls (2020), PS5
May 8: Deathloop, PS5
June 9: King of Fighters 15, PS5
July 4: Sonic Mania, PS4
July 16: Dragon Quest 11S Definitive Edition, PS4
July 22: God of War (2018), PS5
Aug 10: Elden Ring, PS5
Aug 15: Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, PS5
Aug 21: Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, PS5
Sept 6: The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, PS4
Sept 6: What Remains of Edith Finch, PS5
Sept 16: Dead Cells, PS4
Sept 22: A Plague Tale - Innocence, PS5

Avoid this like the easily spread medieval illness it's named after. After seeing videos of this game, I immediately knew the creators were going for cinematic, Uncharted, The Last of Us, God Of War 2018 style gameplay. So I fully expected there to be a heavy focus on story and cutscenes, but, dear God, it was ridiculous. The first half of the game I think evenly balanced the gameplay to cutscene ratio, but the last half basically just consists of alternating between cutscenes and "walk slowly, while talking to a character" style gameplay, which is really just a cutscene in disguise.

One other minor complaint, the PS+ version only consisted of the PS5 version, rather than including both the PS4 and PS5 version. I feel like I deserved a double platinum trophy by way of a save transfer for suffering through this schlock.

[Scrustle]

Spoiler: show

03/01 - Halo 3: ODST (Master Chief Collection)
06/01 - Halo 3 (Master Chief Collection)
09/01 - Hotshot Racing
25/01 - Halo 4 (Master Chief Collection)
29/01 - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
03/02 - Heavenly Sword
05/02 - Need for Speed: Carbon (Battle Royale)
09/02 - Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
20/02 - ICO
24/02 - Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD
25/02 - Halo 5: Guardians
05/03 - Asura's Wrath
09/03 - Shadow of the Colossus HD (Normal mode)
30/03 - Shadow of the Colossus HD (Hard mode)
30/03 - Forza Motorsport 3 (100%)
01/04 - Muramasa: The Demon Blade
11/04 - Forza Horizon 2 (100%)
17/04 - The Darkness
20/04 - The Darkness II
25/04 - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Normal)
29/04 - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
29/04 - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (X360)
06/05 - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Hard)
07/05 - Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
10/05 - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS2)
18/05 - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Very Hard)
21/05 - Umurangi Generation Special Edition
27/05 - GRID Autosport
29/05 - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Revengeance)
02/06 - Lost in Random
03/06 - Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
12/06 - Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix
13/06 - God Hand
25/06 - Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams
28/06 - Gungrave
30/06 - Zone of the Enders HD
01/07 - The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
06/07 - Gungrave: Overdose
07/07 - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
15/07 - Bunjingai: The Forsaken City
23/07 - Leaving Lyndow
01/08 - Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
01/08 - Eastshade
17/08 - The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (Dark Athena version)
26/08 - Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
04/09 - Submerged: Hidden Depths
05/09 - Killer is Dead (Very Hard)

23/09 - Ghost Rider

I recently had my attention drawn to this game as something of a hidden gem on the PS2. A supposedly good action game hiding behind a movie license game that no one would ever give a second look to. I'm usually pretty hesitant to play even a well regarded licensed game of something I'm not already a fan of, given how they tend to rely on your existing emotional investment. But I figured I'd give this one a shot, and it turns out that it is actually surprisingly decent.

It's a solid little experience. It's not going to blow anyone away, but it feels good to play and actually has a bit of depth to it as well. It gives you a respectable array of moves to play around with that have distinct and useful functions. Several launchers, distance closers, crowd control moves, etc. You can definitely combo enemies and play with style here. There's a style meter too, that judges you based on the variety of attacks you use, and some enemies even require you to be at a certain rank to do damage to them, so it actually pushes you to play well.

Visually it's quite nice too. The aesthetic isn't anything amazing, but the detail in the environments is pretty well done, and far above what you might expect from a cheap licensed game that was developed in a short time. While there are quite a lot of drab industrial/urban environments there are a few that stand out. The first level takes place in Hell, and later on there's an evil carnival that has a lot of nice touches too. The special effects are well done, with all the flames that come off your weapon and things like that.

It's a really short game too. About 3 hours according to my save file. I don't know if it records failed attempts at levels though, but there was only one point where I got significantly stuck. The first major story boss is pretty bad. They only give you a tiny window to do any damage, and can heal themselves. So that took a handful of tries. But other than that, it was mostly fine. Challenging enough to make you want to try, especially nearer the end, but not frustrating or pace breaking. The short length was also pretty welcome in that the game didn't drag. It did what it was trying to do well, and didn't try to stretch itself too thin.

Another neat little thing is that there are unlockable videos of the devs talking about the production process, and they show footage of early versions of the game. The earliest prototypes all the way up to the complete game. I found that pretty amusing considering the recent drama around GTA6 development footage leaking, and how rare it is to see stuff like this from major publishers nowadays. Also another fun detail, the lead designer on this game was Sam Barlow, who went on to create Her Story.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Terminator Resistance(platinum) - PS5.
(Jan) Call of Duty: Cold War - Series X.
(Jan) Dishonored 2 - PS5.
(Jan) Aliens: Fireteam Elite - Series X.
(May) State of Decay 2 - Series X.
(June) Chorus - Series X.
(June) Shadow Warrior 3 - PS5.
(June) TMNT: Shredders Revenge - Series X.
(July) TMCC: Halo Reach - Series X.
(July) The Dark Pictures: Little Hope - PS5.
(July) Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - Series X.
(July) Far Cry 6 - Series X.
(July) Road 96 - Series X.
(July) Trek to Yomi - Series X.
(July) Stray - PS5.
(July) Toy Soldiers: Cold War - Xbox 360.
(Aug) Avicii Invector - PS5.
(Sept) GRID Legends - Series X.
(Sept) Crossfire X - Series X.
(Sept) Metal Hellsinger - Series X.

[Jobobonobo]

Spoiler: show

Jan 23: Yakuza 3
Feb 12: Wonderful 101 Remastered
Mar 25: Freedom Planet
May 22: Psychonauts 2
July 24: Yakuza 4
Aug 13: A Hat in Time
Aug 14: Dragon Quest VIII

Sep 24: moon RPG remix adventure

This game was on my wishlist ever since I heard of it all those years ago when it was originally a japan only title for the PS1. It is remarkable how ahead of its time moon is with the deconstruction of RPG tropes along with keeping track of the routines of NPCs. The aim of the game is to collect enough Love from the characters of the video game world you are sucked into so you can finally escape. Along the way, you have to deal with the Hero of the game as he becomes a major obstacle to you trying to make things right. Healing up the monsters that he killed is a fun little twist on how one usually approaches such creatures in RPGs. By capturing the lost souls of monsters and solving the woes of various characters do you collect enough Love to help you progress through your quest. The game starts off tough as you have limited time to explore the world. If you do not sleep in a bed before time runs out then it is game over. By collecting Love, you can stay awake longer and do more. Once you get your own house, the game opens up considerably and the little hurdle at the beginning is no longer such an issue. Incidentally, it was also when I really got into the gameplay loop of moon and became absorbed into its whimsical world.

The world and characters are incredibly memorable with delightfully quirky designs. Even though it is a 1997 PS1 game, the art style of the hand drawn characters along with pre-rendered backgrounds make this one of the nicer looking games of this generation. The claymation animals you have to rescue are especially a treat.

Strangely, it is so contrary to typical RPGs that it plays more like a point and click adventure with a strong focus on puzzle solving and finding out which items are needed to assist certain characters. However, I enjoyed this far more than the typical point and click due to its presentation and the puzzles being mostly straightforward. I did need to take down notes and take photos of certain locales to help figure out certain puzzles but they do make sense unlike some of the worst parts of Grim Fandango. The only puzzle I really struggled with was finding the right order to eat mushrooms to summon a fish god as you are not told exactly how the order goes. One major issue I had was that sometimes the routine of characters was not so clearly told, so if you wanted to figure out what was bothering them you had to wait around until a certain day as their routine changed and you could finally help them. Certain quests involved just waiting at a particular spot for just the right moment which is not exactly the most thrilling of gameplay.

Making such waiting less interminable was the absolutely stellar soundtrack this game has. You can but Moon Discs which play a particular song. With the Moon Discs, your own playlist can be customised. This makes waiting around far less of a chore as the soundtrack is insanely diverse. Electropop, Funk, Jazz, Trip hop and much more. Composed by a range of Japanese artists, the soundtrack of moon is without a doubt one of its most distinctive traits and a huge strength of the game.

Overall, I was quite happy with my time with moon. Sometimes it is a bit too cryptic for its own good and you have to be quite good with time management so that you do not miss certain events which can be a real pain if you mess it up. But its gameplay loop is satisfying once you get into the rhythm of things with you accomplishing quite a lot while you are awake. The story is still wonderfully subversive over 20 years later with a diverse and charming cast of characters. And just to reiterate the soundtrack is among some of the best I have ever heard from any videogame. While it is by no means perfect, I do recommend moon to anyone who wants something a little off the beaten path and is also interested in videogames from a historical perspective due to its use of particular concepts far before they became utilised in more popular titles such as Undertale and Majora’s Mask. It is great to live in a time where little gems like this are no longer restricted to the shores of Japan. The developer Love-de-Lic has had a history of creating strange titles that never made it outside of Japan. Hopefully we will see more stuff from their vault in the future.

[markfm007]

Jan 7th - Little Nightmares 2
Jan 15th - Final Fantasy IX
Feb 3rd - Deathloop
April 29th - Last of Us Remastered
June 1st - Marvel's Spider-Man
June 30th - Elden Ring
July 15th - Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
July 30th - What Remains of Edith Finch
August 7th - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
August 21st - God of War HD
September 9th - God of War 2 HD
September 27th - God of War 3 Remastered

Easily my favourite of the trilogy, probably even beats the reboot for me overall. Although it’s only one generation ahead of the other two (PS2 and PS3 remasters), it feels like a multi generation leap both graphically and in the scale of its set pieces. Tonally and visually it’s a very dark game, taking you on a dimly lit and increasingly apocalyptic journey around Mount Olympus. It looks fantastic, with some stand outs for me being the eerie River Styx, the fight against Hades, and the cavernous, shifting labyrinth. I also liked the story cutscenes inspired by Greek pottery. The only area where the game shows its age is some of the character models, which are a bit basic.

Puzzles have been mostly removed here, with action, boss fights and traversal set pieces taking centre stage. I’m fully on board with this. I liked some of the platforming challenges in the first game, but the box pushing, bell ringing stuff killed the pace. I liked the puzzle where Kratos briefly plays Guitar Hero though. Combat’s always been good but it’s at its best here. New weapons are more viable and interesting, with magic attached to them. New abilities like the mid air dash and the ram are great additions. Maybe a controversial opinion but I enjoy the quick time finishing moves in these games, and moving the button prompts to the screen edges was a clever decision. The challenges escalate in response, leading to chaotic fights that are addictive and cathartic. Some of the fights at the end got so fast I had to pause to take a breath, not joking. Overall this trilogy has done a great job of figuring out what does and doesn’t work between games.

Spoiler: show

The boss fights are similarly brilliant, varied, and absurd. I loved the dark, constantly shifting Hades fight, the incredible scale and imagination of the Cronos fight, and the climactic Zeus fight, which plays similarly to the final of the other two games, but is the most enjoyable of the three. I also really liked the Hercules fight, scrapping with your irritated brother while Hera heckles from the sideline was very funny.

I enjoyed how over the top, nasty and silly this game is, and how it lets you revel in being the monster tearing apart these demons and arrogant gods. There is a seedier side to it, most obvious with the Aphrodite stuff, where I’m glad they moved away from that. There’s a clear ending to this game, an acknowledgement that Kratos can’t really be this monstrous figure any more. He finds a connection with Pandora and releases his powers gained from the box, the ending nightmare sequence similar to the end of the first game, where Kratos is forced to face who he is. It’s a bit clumsy but it’s a good setup for a potential future for Kratos. I like that it allows for some hope while not backing away from the dark, bleak nature of the game.

It makes me appreciate the reboot a little more in terms of why it went the direction it did. It’s a sort of mirror image of 3 in terms of its strengths and weaknesses, but keeps the core aspect of Kratos’ character that was most human, his regret around his family. Allowing him to actually be a dad, struggle and grow with that, makes more sense than I realised outside of ‘this is what people like now’. I still think that game is baggy and uneven, but as a follow on from 3, that works as a direction for a reboot. It doesn’t disown the series, just takes it in a new and interesting direction.

[Scrustle]

September 27th - God of War 3 Remastered

It's cool to see someone playing through these old games for the first time and seeing what they think, especially after playing the reboot first. Glad you enjoyed them. I agree about the QTEs. These games used to get a lot of heat for their use of them, but I think 3 in particular implemented them really well. Keeping prompts off to the side so they don't obscure the action, but which side they appear on being a good way to communicate what button it wants without having to look directly at it. And the in-combat QTEs are short, and don't have much negative impact if you fail, keeping the pace of fights going and feeling like a natural part of it.

I personally put GoW3 up as probably the best of the old games too. Although I have this suspicion my current feelings on the series have more to do with how recently I last played them. It seems like the longer ago I last played, the more positive I am on them. Then again, I actually enjoyed this one more on my second run through compared to my first, which is the opposite trend to most of the other games.

[markfm007]

September 27th - God of War 3 Remastered

It's cool to see someone playing through these old games for the first time and seeing what they think, especially after playing the reboot first. Glad you enjoyed them. I agree about the QTEs. These games used to get a lot of heat for their use of them, but I think 3 in particular implemented them really well. Keeping prompts off to the side so they don't obscure the action, but which side they appear on being a good way to communicate what button it wants without having to look directly at it. And the in-combat QTEs are short, and don't have much negative impact if you fail, keeping the pace of fights going and feeling like a natural part of it.

I personally put GoW3 up as probably the best of the old games too. Although I have this suspicion my current feelings on the series have more to do with how recently I last played them. It seems like the longer ago I last played, the more positive I am on them. Then again, I actually enjoyed this one more on my second run through compared to my first, which is the opposite trend to most of the other games.

Ah cheers. 100% agree on the QTEs and the side screen prompts. It's a nice way to punctuate a fight, and I don't mind a bit of cinematic gameplay as long as it serves the action, and these definitely do. It fits with the bigger set pieces too. Nostalgia can definitely colour your vision but from a fresh perspective, I liked them. First one has some brutal sections, but other than that they're worth a revisit.

[stvnorman]

1 September: Star Gladiators - Hayato (PS1)
9 September: Over Horizon (NES)
15 September: Vampire Savior: The Lord Of Vampire - Lilith (Switch)
18 September: Vampire Savior 2: The Lord Of Vampire - Lilith (Switch)
23 September: 19xx The War Against Destiny (Arcade on Switch)
27 September: The Secret of Monkey Island (Amiga A500 Mini)

Really getting into this fighting thing again, starting with my first Star Gladiators clear. Very impressed with Over Horizon too - very accessible and creative shoot ‘em up that looks and sounds incredible! A bit like Lilith in a bit more Darkstalkers! 19xx is often spectacular but sometimes too frustrating to rinse as much as I usually might but I’m done in a reasonable number of credits now so time to move on. Never a problem to rinse Monkey Island again though!

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Terminator Resistance(platinum) - PS5.
(Jan) Call of Duty: Cold War - Series X.
(Jan) Dishonored 2 - PS5.
(Jan) Aliens: Fireteam Elite - Series X.
(May) State of Decay 2 - Series X.
(June) Chorus - Series X.
(June) Shadow Warrior 3 - PS5.
(June) TMNT: Shredders Revenge - Series X.
(July) TMCC: Halo Reach - Series X.
(July) The Dark Pictures: Little Hope - PS5.
(July) Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - Series X.
(July) Far Cry 6 - Series X.
(July) Road 96 - Series X.
(July) Trek to Yomi - Series X.
(July) Stray - PS5.
(July) Toy Soldiers: Cold War - Xbox 360.
(Aug) Avicii Invector - PS5.
(Sept) GRID Legends - Series X.
(Sept) Crossfire X - Series X.
(Sept) Metal Hellsinger - Series X.
(Oct) Bayonetta Remaster - Series X.
(Oct) Prodeus - Series X.

[Tolkientaters]

September 27th - God of War 3 Remastered

And the in-combat QTEs are short, and don't have much negative impact if you fail, keeping the pace of fights going and feeling like a natural part of it.

Agree about the in combat QTEs, but some of the environmental ones are just excessive. I stopped playing the PS4 version twice because I thought the QTE to pick up a tree early on was glitched. It wasn't, you were just expected to completely hammer one of the buttons.

[seansthomas]

Not to totally derail the thread, but I've found finishing a game off really hard this year. Not sure why... it it Gamepass meaning I try (and drop) more titles? The sense of exhaustation after the length of Elden Ring? My commute now not really existing so no Switch time? All the above?

But I've normally got a huge list by now and only one or two games on the go, whereas this year I have:

Splatoon 3, Neon White, Sable, Tinykin, Kirby, XC3, Prodeus, Paradise Killer, Lair of the Clockwork God, Return to Monkey Island and Split second all half finished.

And I was enjoying them all too...?

Not sure what's different this year

[Alex79]

JAN - Universal Paperclips (Android)
JAN - Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox)
JAN - Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons (Switch)
JAN - Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (Xbox)
JAN - Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox)
JAN - Halo Infinite (Xbox)
JAN - Hitman (Xbox)
FEB - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)
FEB - Max Payne 2 (Xbox)
FEB - The Walking Dead: 400 Days (Xbox)
FEB - Hyper Sentinel (Switch)
FEB - It Takes Two (Xbox)
FEB - Overboard! (Android)
APR - Hollow Knight (Switch)
APR - Sagebrush (Switch)
APR - Saints Row IV (Switch)
APR - Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis on Switch)
APR - Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox)
APR - WarioWare: Get It Together! (Switch)
MAY - Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Arcade on Xbox)
MAY - Super Mario 3D World (Switch)
MAY - You Must Build A Boat (Android)
MAY - Untitled Goose Game (Switch)
JUN - The Secret Of Monkey Island (PC-CD on Android)
JUN - Street Fighter (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting (Switch)
JUN - Super Street Fighter II (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha (Switch)
JUN - Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Switch)
JUN - Disco Elysium (Switch)
JUL - Portal (Switch)
JUL - Poinpy (Android)
JUL - Dishonored: Definitive Edition (Xbox)
JUL - Portal: Still Alive (Switch)
AUG - X-Com 2 (Switch)
SEP - Monkey Island 2: Le Chuck's Revenge (PC on Android)
SEP - Grid Legends: Story Mode (Xbox)
SEP - Batman: Arkham Knight (Xbox)

OCT - X-Com 2: War Of The Chosen (Switch)

Ok, so firstly, I don't like turn based strategy games. And secondly, this game is an absolute masterpiece. A 10/10 game which has immediately entered my top ten of all time. It took what was already an incredible game in X-Com 2, and made it better. More enemies, more weapons, more story and missions, so much additional content that it's basically an entire new game. I have never felt so attached to characters, so invested in their wellbeing, and punched the air so hard as when you take out a Chosen and put the enemy advance back by a few weeks. The game is just astonishingly good, and anyone ought to give it a try. It really is amazing.

[Truk_Kurt]

You should really give Gears Tactics a go Alex on your Series S. I doubt you will think it is as good as XCOM (although I prefer it) but it's still very good. On Switch I would recommend Mario & Rabbids, which is my favourite Switch game after BoTW. Not sure if XCOM Chimera Squad is on Switch.